106 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
oust the other. If the official language succeeds in ousting the non-official language from the cultural field, nothing like it. If it fails, there cannot be much harm. Such a position cannot be said to be intolerable. It is no more intolerable than the present position in which we have English as the official language and the Provincial language as its non-official language. The only difference is that the official language will not be English but some other.
The requirements of a satisfactory solution
- I am aware of the fact that my solution is not an ideal solution. It makes working of the constitution in the Provinces on democratic lines possible. But it does not make possible the democratic working of the constitution at the Centre. That is because mere linguistic unity, i.e., the facility to speak a common language does not ensure homogeneity which is the result of many other factors. As stated before, the representatives selected by the Provinces to the Central Legislature will remain what they are, namely, Bengalis, Tamilians, Andhras, Maharashtrians, etc., even though they may be speaking the official language of the Centre and not their mother-tongue. But an ideal solution which can be put into effect immediately, I cannot see. We must be content with the next best. The only thing we must be sure about is that the solution we adopt immediately must satisfy two conditions :
(i) It must be the very next best to the ideal; and
(ii) It must be capable of developing itself into the ideal.
Judged in the light of these considerations, I venture to say that the solution which I have suggested satisfies these two conditions.
PART II
WILL MAHARASHTRA BE A VIABLE PROVINCE ?
Tests of Viability
- Coming to the specific question of Maharashtra Province it is necessary to be satisfied that it will be a viable Province. For being declared a viable Province, a Province must satisfy certain tests. It must be of a certain size, it must have a certain volume of population and a commensurate amount of revenue. A Province must not only be self-supporting — which any Province can be by choosing to live on a lower plane — but it must have sufficient revenue to provide for a minimum standard of administration required by efficiency and the needs of social welfare.
Is Maharashtra Viable ?
- Does the Province of Maharashtra satisfy these tests ? The following are the figures which show the size and population of the Maharashtra Province as constituted on a linguistic basis :